The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church (or, Compassion for the Alumnae of the Christian Faith)

A real downside to working for a Christian organization/church/media-what-have-you is that, depending on how public your position is, you become a lightning rod for people’s feelings about organized religion–which of course are rarely neutral or mild. In an instant you can find yourself cast as a stand-in for whatever Pharisaical relative or teacher or ex-girlfriend offended the friend-of-a-friend in question. Transference goes with the territory, and don’t get me wrong: when it comes to those you know and care about (and most that you don’t), it’s a privilege to serve in this capacity. But it can be awkward and even unpleasant when it comes to people you’ve just met, especially those who’ve got an axe to grind. It’s a bit like studying abroad and constantly being called upon to answer for America’s foreign policy… The fact that it’s completely understandable doesn’t make it any less objectifying when you’re on the receiving end. I’m not talking about the downtrodden small-town refugee who’s lost their faith and wants someone to hear them out. I’m talking about the guy who’s had a couple drinks too many and wants to yell at–and maybe even bully–someone with a collar (or the equivalent), the guy that wants to get in your face like someone got in his.

If the attacks tended to be valid ones, it would be an exhausting way to live. But as you might expect, the vast majority are more emotional than anything else. And they are almost never directed at Jesus himself, or Christian doctrine for that matter. The inevitable target is The Church. You might say the complaints lie with Christians rather than with Christ. Which makes perfect sense, since there’s no shortage of injustice done in the name of religion, folks who use religious language to disguise/bless all kinds of awfulness, who make a big noise about love and forgiveness but deliver the opposite. Lord knows I’ve been guilty of it myself! In There Will Be Blood the Daniel Plainview character makes a memorable pronouncement about how spiritual fraud is the most despicable kind, and it’s a view which I think is shared by many, for good reason. Naturally plenty of people have stories along these lines – in fact, it’s surprising there aren’t more!

At a time in my life when I was particularly discouraged about this stuff, someone played me a recording of Rod Rosenbladt’s watershed lecture, “The Gospel For Those Broken By the Church,” and it gave me renewed compassion for those who’s anger exceeded my own. Indeed, it spoke to me in the places where I’d been burned myself, even providing part of the inspiration for starting Mockingbird. I kid you not. The good news is, the presentation has finally made it on to youtube, courtesy of the good people over at New Reformation Press. As you’ll hear, Dr. Rosenbladt’s particular concern is for people who’ve had damaging experience with American Evangelicalism, but despite what he says at the beginning, his words translate fairly well to other contexts. If you or anyone you know fits the description, do yourself a favor:

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It is not currently available as a CD, but if you follow the link in the video’s description, you can grab the MP3 and burn a CD from it if you wish. We are trying to make a CD of his two big free presentations (including “Christianity In Five Verses”) which will only be available for free, but we’re not quite there yet.

“But as you might expect, the vast majority are more emotional than anything else. And they are almost never directed at Jesus himself, or Christian doctrine for that matter.”

You know… I have to confess, it really WAS Jesus that my emotional frustration was directed at. I read the book of Matthew and it was the most shell-shocking experience I’ve ever had. Raised in what essentially was a background of cheap grace and purpose driven spirituality, encountering the real demands of Jesus was terrifying, and in that gospel, it was hard to find anything about justification. It almost felt like I was hiding from Jesus behind the Apostle Paul, and was never able to really recover from the fact that the gospel of grace that I loved seemed to be bowled over every time I realized that I was living for myself instead of for Jesus, and to console myself with the gospel seemed perverse because I wasn’t carrying my cross and following Christ.
I’m currently inquiring into the Roman catholic Church in hopes that the sacrament can give me the grace to follow him instead of always being so bitter and angry that salvation isn’t easier.

I’m sure he means well and has helped many person with his analysis of why people are mad and sad at the church. But he damages his entire proposition by his generalizations about mainline churches. It’s apparent he knows next to nothing about the traditional orthodoxy that remains in many mainlines. So he uses some of the same techniques that other fundamentalists do in defense of their own and their attacks on the other. Too bad. And some people are just tired of propositional theology.

I agree. I turned it off after 5 minutes or so because of how “religious” he was. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck… I find it difficult to believe that anyone burned or burnt out by religion could listen to this and get anything out of it. Sorry.

About

WHAT: Mockingbird seeks to connect the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life in fresh and down-to-earth ways.

WHY: Are we called Mockingbird? The name was inspired by the mockingbird’s peculiar gift for mimicking the cries of other birds. In a similar way, we seek to repeat the message we have heard - God’s word of grace and forgiveness.

HOW: Via every medium available! At present this includes (but is not limited to) a daily weblog, semi-annual conferences, and an ongoing publications initiative.

WHO: At present, we employ three full-time staff, David Zahl and Ethan Richardson and William McDavid. They are helped and supported by a large number of contributing volunteers and writers. Our board of directors is chaired by Mr. Thomas Becker.

WHERE: Our offices are located at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, VA.

WHEN: Mockingbird was incorporated in June 2007 and is currently in its seventh year of operation.

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